Rob Ford’s sobriety coach kicked a protester, cop says

Protesters hold signs during a gathering in support of shirtless jogger and teacher Joe Kiloran, who peppered Mayor Rob Ford with questions about his conduct, during the East York Canada Day parade in Toronto, Ontario, July 4, 2014. A member of the same "shirtless horde" yelled over a press conference Ford gave on Tuesday morning.Photo: Tyler Anderson/National Post

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s sobriety coach Bob Marier kicked a shirtless protester at a press conference Tuesday, according to a police officer on the scene.

In a video posted by CityNews Toronto, Marier is seen standing next to John Furr, a demonstrator, who himself was standing topless behind the mayor, chanting “resign, resign, resign,” as Ford tried to speak.

The two men, Marier and Furr, appear to collide. Then Furr shouts: “Don’t shove me!” and someone pulls Marier away. Standing behind him is a police officer.

“If you want me to help you out, you can’t be kicking him,” the officer tells Marier. “I saw you kick him. I saw it happen.”

Furr is a leader of the so-called “shirtless horde,” a small group of anti-Ford protestors born out of Ford’s run-in with a burly, topless jogger last week. For the duration of Ford’s remarks Monday Furr and several others yelled, waved signs and showed off their sun-starved torsos for the cameras.

At one point during the remarks, Ford’s chief of staff, Dan Jacobs approached Furr. The two men stood close to each other and argued. “Take your hand off me! Don’t touch me! … Get out of my face Dan,” Furr said. A few moments later the two argued briefly about who was touching whom.

From less than two meters away, any contact between the two appeared innocuous at worst. Jacobs tried to stay in front of Furr for a time, weaving back and forth in front of the topless man. “Don’t push me,” he told Furr.

Jacobs then phoned police. At least five officers eventually arrived. No arrests were made.

Toronto mayor Rob Ford takes a drink during his first council meeting since leaving for rehab at City Hall in Toronto, Ontario, July 7, 2014. (Tyler Anderson/National Post)

Afterward, Furr accused the mayor’s staff of trying to stifle his rights. “Dan Jacobs tried to interfere with me having my free speech,” he said. “He came up to me. … He put his hands on me and started shoving me backwards. I’m not going to be intimidated politically by the mayor’s staff.”

Later, at City Hall, Jacobs refused to say whether he shoved Furr. He also did respond when asked why he phoned police.

Marier, who joined Ford as a full-time sobriety coach after his release from rehab last week, did not respond to shouted questions from reporters. CBC reported Ford is paying Marier for his services.

The mayor, meanwhile, did his best to ignore it all. After addressing a crowd gathered for the kickoff of the Scotiabank Carnival, he posed for photos while reporters asked him several variations on the same question: “Did your sobriety coach kick a protestor.” Ford did not provide an answer.

Ford claimed that his SUV had its windows smashed overnight and seemingly suggested that rival campaigns could have something to do with it.

“It’s pretty that in a democracy like Canada people resort to this. I think the questions will have to be pointed to John Tory and Olivia Chow and ask them, because people don’t just do this out of the goodness of their heart,” he told reporters Tuesday when asked about his vehicle.

Seconds later, he claimed he was referring to the other campaigns’ relationship with the shirtless protesters, not about his vehicle.

Mayor Ford’s post-rehab comeback has already be beset with political problems as his refusal to answer many questions has led to several protests. Additionally, a new poll by Nanos Research, has the mayor sitting a distant third in the campaign.

The poll, for the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, puts Tory in the lead for decided voters at 39.1%, followed by Chow at 32.7% and Ford at 21.7%. The poll, from a sample of about 600 Torontonians, has a margin of error of =/- four percentage points.

The poll clashes heavily with most other polling about the Toronto mayoral race as the majority of polls have had Chow comfortably ahead. A poll last week by Forum Researchhad Chow at 36%, Tory at 27% and Ford at 26%.

Councillor Ford dismissed the latest survey as “fictitious poll.”

“If I was Nik Nanos I’d be embarrassed to release a poll like that,” Ford said. “I usually don’t comment about polls but this one I have to.”

The councillor linked Nanos to Nick Kouvalis, a former Ford adviser who is now with the Tory campaign.

Ford said he was unbothered by the poor optics at their press conference Tuesday.

“It’s not Rob Ford creating the circus, it’s all the fringe lunatics that are running around,” Councillor Ford said.